Breach of the CPA-Discriminatory practices-Response from management required please.

[Serthentia Sales 36]

I have recently had all my listings removed due to "dropshipping not being allowed". All my listings clearly stated that my items are shipped from overseas, and nothing was hidden from my buyers. However, the amount of sellers who are allowed to dropship makes this a breach of the CPA. Please see the following below:

 

In terms of the CPA you cannot allow certain sellers to dropship items and

disallow others. Please see the following extarct from the CPA below:

 

*A supplier must not, directly or indirectly treat any person differently

in a manner that constitutes discrimination on one or more of the

prohibited grounds when:*

 

- *proposing or agreeing the terms and conditions of a transaction or

agreement*

 

 

In this situation BoB the seller, providing the service to use your

marketplace. Disallowing certain rights which are granted to others in a

breach of the CPA, as it constitutes discrimination and unequal treatment

for the same service.

 

 

If Bid or Buy want to disallow dropshipping, then that is fine. However, according to law they CANNOT allow it for some users and not for others. All users MUST be granted the same rights.

 

My account has been disabled now without warning, and without BoB responding to my ticket regarding this matter. I stated my concerns regarding certain sellers being allowed to dropship and others not, and stated that I would gladly remove the listings for items which I am dropshipping as soon as I receive feedback from BoB regarding my support ticket. Next thing I know, my items are gone and my seller account disabled with no response and no warning.

 

How is that an acceptable way to treat a client of your site?

 

Now I am informed by the live help that my R600+ listing fees will not be refunded? Again, a breach of CPA as a service which is not provided may not be charged for.

 

I will be in contact with my attorney regarding a submission to the National Consumer Tribunal about this matter if BoB cannot provide some clarification on the above and why the CPA is not adhered to on the site.

 

I trust that this matter can be resolved internally, but that is up to BoB. Disabling someones account without warning and without response to a support ticket regarding the matter is very poor customer service in my opinion. I verified my account only yesterday by sending my proof of ID and residence, which were accepted by BoB without any problem.

 

Please will someone from management respond to this post ASAP.

 

Regards,

Feni Ndusi

 

[admin 13]

Dear Feni,

 

Your concerns will be addressed during business hours tomorrow, by the right person in Management, as soon as possible. Please bare with me for a minute, while you are waiting on that reply, maybe I can clear some issues up in the meantime.

 

In terms of the CPA you cannot allow certain sellers to dropship items and

disallow others. Please see the following extarct from the CPA below:

 

*A supplier must not, directly or indirectly treat any person differently

in a manner that constitutes discrimination on one or more of the

prohibited grounds when:*

 

- *proposing or agreeing the terms and conditions of a transaction or

agreement*

 

"A supplier must not" that would be you, the seller, and not bidorbuy. bidorbuy only provides the platform for sellers and buyers to negotiate the terms and conditions of a transaction. This clause has absolutely nothing to do with drop shipping. An example that would be covered by this clause. The seller may not charge buyer "A" R50 for postage via SAPO for item "X" to Johannesburg and charge buyer "B" R100 for postage via SAPO for item "X" to Johannesburg.

 

 

In this situation BoB the seller, providing the service to use your marketplace.

As explained above, you are the seller and not bidorbuy.

 

 

You sent in all your tickets after 4pm today, please take note that response time on tickets are between 24 to 48 hours due to the large volume of tickets. Lastly, please read through the Terms and Conditions of Use of this Site and the Listing Policy, which I notice you agreed to on 04 Jan 2016 @ 16:49. There will be some more information for you regarding your issue. Especially in the Listing Policy which is setup in accordance with all applicable laws, including the CPA.

 

http://www.bidorbuy.co.za/help/441/Terms_Conditions_of_This_Site

 

Kind regards

Andries

Edited January 19, 2016 by admin

[Serthentia Sales 36]

Dear Feni,

 

Your concerns will be addressed during business hours tomorrow, by the right person in Management, as soon as possible. Please bare with me for a minute, while you are waiting on that reply, maybe I can clear some issues up in the meantime.

 

 

"A supplier must not" that would be you, the seller, and not bidorbuy. bidorbuy only provides the platform for sellers and buyers to negotiate the terms and conditions of a transaction. This clause has absolutely nothing to do with drop shipping. An example that would be covered by this clause. The seller may not charge buyer "A" R50 for postage via SAPO for item "X" to Johannesburg and charge buyer "B" R100 for postage via SAPO for item "X" to Johannesburg.

 

Good Evening Admin.

 

Thank you for your response. I do not fully agree with the above, as in I am the supplier to my buyers yes. But you are the supplier to me, as you charge me fees to use your service which is this website. As such, the contract between myself and BoB falls under the CPA which I stated and the terms of that contract are different for myself and for other sellers who are allowed to dropship items. That is my view on the matter, however I am not a lawyer so I will seek legal advice to clarify the matter further.

 

The main issue is my account being suspended without warning. I received a warning and then immediate suspension of my account without being given the chance to respond to the issue. Also that my account was suspended when there was a response due to my ticket. I stated that I had no problem removing the listings for drop shipped items, I just needed clarity on the issue before doing so.

 

I will be reading the terms and conditions from your link shortly. If I may make a suggestion, in future please allow a seller the time to solve an issue before suspending their account. It would go a long way towards solving a problem rather than an immediate suspension for any issue which quite frankly is not very serious. If the seller does not respond, then suspend their account. But give a seller time to address the issue in future.

 

But I thank you for your promise that this matter will be resolved tomorrow during business hours. Please ask the correct manager to email me as soon as possible tomorrow morning so that this matter can be resolved.

 

Regards,

Feni Ndusi